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The practice of insurance has a long and rich history that parallels our willingness to undertake risky endeavors. As early as 1800 BC, the Code of Hammurabi was used in Babylon to promote and protect maritime commerce. Risk management became an important element of commerce and specialized agents emerged in Europe to help individuals protect their property and their lives. First guilds and then businessmen offered risk management services. Increasing urbanization brought new concerns, such as fire protection and prevention that spawned some of the first insurance businesses. Settlers almost at the inception of the United States adopted these practices; the American Revolution spurred the burgeoning domestic industry, which was needed to replace insurance previously supplied by English insurers.[1]

Recently, President George W. Bush called on Congress to enact pro-growth economic policies that would jump-start the economy.
In response to the president’s remarks urging Congress to act, Citizens for a Sound Economy’s president, Paul Beckner, issued the following statement:

The United States Hispanic Contractors Association (USHCA), the fastest growing Hispanic business association in the U.S. with more than 130,000 member firms in 15 states, today added its voice to other consumer groups appealing to members of Congress to encourage the Commerce Department to reverse its preliminary decision to impose 19.3 percent duties on all softwood lumber imported from Canada, and to move to free lumber trade under NAFTA. The group is headquartered in Austin, Texas.
"It's unfortunate that the handful of U.S. forestry companies have sought protectionist action that amounts to imposing a federal sales tax on vital Canadian lumber needed for housing construction," said Frank Fuentes, chairman of the USHCA. "The needed supply of framing lumber is not available in the U.S. since we have historically continued to reduce our supplies of softwood lumber, and state and national forests have increasingly been placed off-limits for logging. Our housing sector can not prosper without Canadian softwood."
On August 10, 2001, the Commerce Department announced that it would impose a 19.3 percent countervailing duty on Canadian softwood lumber imports, which accounts for some 35 percent of U.S. softwood lumber consumption. A handful of U.S. producers, led by International Paper, Sierra Pacific, Potlatch and Temple Inland, along with southern landholders, petitioned Commerce to impose the duties when the U.S./Canada Softwood Lumber Agreement expired in April. That agreement put quota restrictions on the amount of lumber imported into the U.S. over a five year period.
Fuentes said that the proposed duty could reduce U.S. Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) growth from 0.05 percent to 0.11 percent at a time when GDP -- at last report -- is only 0.3 percent. Later this month, Commerce will rule on a request for an additional 39 percent in dumping duties that will further add to the "unprecedented federal sales tax on lumber in homes, and damage U.S. economic growth," he added. "These trade actions harm consumers all across the U.S."
The countervailing duty could raise the cost of a typical new home by $1,000 to $2,000. U.S. Census Bureau data have shown that a price hike of even this amount could drive thousands of households out of the housing market, depriving families of the American dream of home ownership, Fuentes said. "These costs significantly impact lower income, retiring senior citizens and first time homebuyers. If the antidumping duties are added, the numbers will be significantly higher."
"We are asking members of Congress to carefully weigh the impact of this trade restraint on housing affordability, and specifically on the fragile homebuilding sector of our economy," Fuentes said. "There is an affordable housing shortage in this country. We are encouraging members of Congress to join with more than 100 members of the Senate and House who are already calling for free trade in lumber through concurrent resolutions in the Senate and House (S. Con. Res. 4 and H. Con. Res. 45)." The two resolutions call for ending trade restraints and moving to free trade in softwood lumber between the U.S. and Canada.
"We also are appealing to our U.S. producers to support their customers and to end these senseless turf battles between our two countries," Fuentes said. "We should be working together to expand the market for wood, and compete against the growing use of wood substitutes, such as steel."
A similar appeal was made in mid-September by two ACAH member organizations, Manufactured Housing Institute and Manufacturing Housing Association for Regulatory Reform, pointing out that the cost of a manufactured home has increased by as much as $2,000 since the duties were imposed. The average cost of a manufactured home is $43,600. The manufactured housing builders rely on softwood lumber from Canada since southern yellow pine does not have the characteristics required for this type of construction.
Approximately six million U.S. workers are involved in lumber-using businesses, including home builders, remodelers, lumber dealers, and workers in industries such as wood pallet manufacturers, window frame and bed makers. More than 6 million workers are associated with the consumers of lumber and outnumber lumber-producing workers by 25 to 1 in the United States.
The ACAH represents approximately 95 percent of softwood lumber use in the U.S. ACAH members include CHEP USA, Citizens for a Sound Economy, Consumers for World Trade, Free Trade Lumber Council, The Home Depot, International Mass Retail Association, International Sleep Products Association, Leggett & Platt Inc., Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform, Manufactured Housing Institute, National Association of Home Builders, National Black Chamber of Commerce, National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association, National Retail Federation, and the United States Hispanic Contractors Association.

In the wake of the September 11 attacks, America’s economy has slowed notably. Layoffs have been announced throughout the economy, and those sectors directly affected by the attacks already are pleading their case for a federal bailout. The airline industry, whose stocks plunged 32 percent as businesses and consumers reconsidered travel plans, has worked out a tidy package of federal aid. With consumer confidence low, and businesses struggling, the federal government has turned to crafting a stimulus package for the economy. To bolster economic growth, what should be included in such a package?

Thomas Jefferson was effusive in his praise for the farmer. He believed that the future of republican government hinged on the extent to which the character of the citizenry would reflect that of the independent, yeoman agriculturalist. Last week, the United States House of Representatives was sure to remind people of Jefferson’s pro-farmer mindset when it voted, 291-120 to pass the "Farm Security Act of 2001."

Citizens for a Sound Economy
October 9, 2001
Stimulate the Economy, Not Big Government
by Brandon Arnold
The events of September 11 forever changed our country. For most Americans, nearly every aspect of our lives has been affected somehow by the horrible national tragedy. Congress, however, appears to be one of the few places largely unchanged by the terrorist attacks. After the initial shock and a few patriotic moments of bipartisanship, many lawmakers have reverted to their favorite habit of wasting taxpayer dollars.

Washington, DC, October 4, 2001 – Today, a coalition of organizations led by Empower America met with White House officials and delivered a letter to the President urging him to "take the reigns of economic policy firmly in hand and present Congress and the American public with a bold plan for economic recovery with specific proposals that build on the successful tax rate reductions of the past." Empower America co-director Jack Kemp, on behalf of the signatories, delivered the letter to the President.

This publication was originally printed in the Texas Federation of Republican Women's Issues and Actions newsletter.
During the last few months, a small group of people here in Texas has been fighting valiantly against a dangerous but very subtle, threat to our nation from within. These Texas heroes are trying to prevent science textbooks from being approved by the State Board of Education that are full of error, unsupported extremist environmental bias, and occasional anti-American rhetoric.